Page 17 of My Fated Mate

Bash claps me on the shoulder, his touch surprisingly gentle. "You're welcome, Alpha Thorne." A glint enters his eyes. "In the meantime, you might want to consider a little stress relief. Anya, our pack’s baker, has been baking her sweet honeycakes again, enough to feed the whole pack twice over."

A wry smile tugs at my lips. "Tempting, but duty calls."

"Alright, alright," Bash throws his hands up in mock surrender. "Just looking out for our fearless Alpha. You know, a stressed Alpha makes for cranky pups."

I chuckle, and it lifts the weight off my chest momentarily. "Thank you, Bash. I’ll definitely ask around for Anya soon.”

"Sure.” Bash grins.

Feeling left out of our conversation, the pups whine in annoyance, and I chuckle.

"Careful there, little ones," I say, ruffling a messy head of fur. "Wouldn't want to get yourselves wounded."

One pup, bolder than the rest, bares his tiny teeth and throws himself at my ankles in a mock attack.

I laugh again, the sound echoing through the training grounds. It's a good sound, a reminder of life beyond the looming prophecy.

A few- not so few- minutes later, I finally reach the healers' den, a cozy log cabin nestled amongst the trees. Inside, the familiar scent of herbs mingles with the acrid smell of my two warrior’s wounds. Viktor and Bjorn’s injuries are taking long to heal.

The old healer, Ellie, fusses over them with gnarled hands. “Slow healing, these Silver Crescent boys," she grumbles, throwing me a grumpy glare.

I freeze, tension flowing through my veins. What does she mean?

But my enforcers don’t seem to feel the same tension. Viktor, ever the jokester, even with a bandaged arm, shoots me a sly grin. "Silver Crescent boys know how to fight, dear Ellie, unlike some brooding forest folk who get lost in their thoughts."

She rolls her eyes and smacks his bandage, making him yelp in pain. "Proud, overfed pups, all of you.”

“Oww, Ellie!”

What exactly is going on here?

She turns to me and puts her hands on her hips. “Well, are you going to stand there and watch like a creep?!”

I start to see red, “how dare—”

“Forgive her, Alpha. This is Ellie, and this is the way she shows her love. Don’t mind her grumpy behavior.” Bjorn quickly defends her.

I raise my eyebrows, but the healer seems unimpressed with my reaction to her.

“Well?” she says, “Come sit so I can clean your wounds, or do you need me to baby and coo you to take a seat and stop crowding my space?”

I feel the urge to remind her that the space is big enough that ten more people added couldn’t crowd her, but I bite my lips and sit where she points.

She tuts and shakes her head. “Silver Crescent pups…”

“I’m an Alpha, not a pup.” I remind her, and she just makes a sound in her throat and removes my shirt.

Her hands are very gentle and nimble compared to her sharp tongue, and the way she massages my shoulders and tends to my wounds makes me tolerate her foul mouth.

By the time she’s done, I’m already bantering with her right back.

“When do you think they’ll be ready to fight again, pretty Ellie?” I ask, and she scoffs.

“With how lazy they all are, I’d say a whole year.”

I snort. "I can only give a month. My lazy Silver Crescent boys need some pampering."

Later that night, the moon hangs beautiful and bright, but frustration claws at me like a ravenous beast.

---